Lion's Savior
by XSuicuneX
Summary: All he wanted was a galleon of drink and to be left alone. Everything hurt, a slow, agonizing burn. It didn't help that she was there, pushing, pushing, pushing, refusing to leave his business alone. It just had to be Karma.


**Oneshot time! This is a teensy bit AU in that there's no way in hell this would happen. I just got hit with a plot bunny and since I fucking love writing Loke in hiding (and am a lolu heathen) I decided to write this. Poor poor Loke. Lucy is stubborn and nosy as fuck (wonder where she learned it from)**

 **This is set before Phantom Lord, and as always, my HC is that Makarov knows who the fuck Loke is.**

 **Sorry not sorry about Undertale reference at the start.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail but Mashima-san is an artist I really fucking love. I also don't own Rise Against' 'Savior' which is basically where the title is from (and is also what I was playing on repeat and drove me to write this damn idea down finally)**

* * *

It was a regular day in the Guild of Fairy Tail. The sun was shining, birds were singing, guild members drinking…. On days like this, Celestial Spirits who were currently in hiding…such as Loke….

Should be hating every fiber of his being.

He ignored the sounds of his guild mates, their laughter and chatter becoming nothing more than idle background buzz to his ears. No, instead he focused on the heavy drink currently between his ring encrusted hands, the cool moisture of the condensation wetting his palms, the very physical sensations of the wooden mug giving him an anchor, a focus to settle on as he tried very hard to breath, to focus on breathing, to ignore the sharp jabs of pain that struck him intermediately.

He was not having a very good day.

Mirajane frowned at him, a worried expression on her face as she watched the normally carefree mage go through his tenth mug of the evening. It was always like this every now and then, Loke would walk in, plop himself in front of the bar with no ladies to be had and simply spend the entire day slowly draining a keg of the hardest liquor they had. Master Makarov didn't fuss, and when pressed he'd usually bark at the askee to mind their own business. Fairy Tail had a policy about allowing mages their own lives and business, and Loke wasn't exempt. Mira was certain he knew _why_ the young man got like this, but unlike some, she wasn't dumb enough to try to force the information from Makarov.

Or from Loke, for that matter. No matter who asked, even his friends Gray and Cana, no one got the answer. It was one of the many things about his personal life that he was extremely close lipped about.

Mira could only sigh as she watched the ginger drain the rest of his mug, topping him off without being asked to. He'd ended up like this often enough for her to fall into a routine, even if it did worry him. He smiled gratefully to her, and she only thanked kami that he was incredibly unflirtatious when he was in this state.

The doors to the guild opening up distracted her from her musings, and she smiled, albeit nervously, to see Natsu, Happy, and their newest member Lucy striding inside. Certainly it was good to see Natsu in happier spirits, and Lucy seemed to be the reason for it, but between the current playboy's state and his nigh infamous dislike of celestial wizards she was…more than a bit worried about what would happen.

Fortunately, it didn't seem to cause any problems, for Loke was in far too much pain to bare a retreat, even if the presence of the celestial mage called to him like water to a starving man. It was almost as bad as the painful pressure spiking into his being, but only just. He ignored them, too much in a mood to bother acknowledging their presence. Everyone usually left him alone on days like this, so he didn't bother to worry.

Oh if only.

"Hey Loke, where's your harem?" Natsu, ever tactless Natsu, _brilliant_ Natsu was possibly the only one he knew who couldn't take the hints, how could he forget that? The spirit didn't bother to answer him, simply giving a long suffering sigh as he took another long draft. He almost wished Gray were there, if only so that he could distract the dragon slayer as he always did, even if the fight would give him a headache on top of everything. But no, he was on a mission with Cana, another person who probably would make this experience a slightly less horrible one. Though if Cana were there, he _wouldn't_ be. It wouldn't be the first time he and her used that particular understanding during these days.

The pinkette, not one to be deterred by silence, took the seat next to him to give him a hard look. Lucy, who'd just been conversing with Levy, went to take the seat after, much to the spirit's chagrin. At least she didn't take the seat to his other side, small mercies.

The dragon slayer sniffed him, wrinkling his nose in disgust at the smell of booze permeating his person. "One of those days huh?" He asked, scowling. Natsu had been repeatedly one of those more persistent people in asking why he did what he did, but fortunately Loke was far stubborner than the impatient man. He'd had centuries to master it after all. Natsu gave a small groan and turned to lean his back against the counter, his head drooping back. "Maaaaan, you're no fun when you get like this." He complained.

"Get like what?" Lucy asked, frowning in concern over her teammate's body. "What's wrong, Loke?"

His normal aversion to the woman caused him to involuntarily cringe, a nervous grin crawling on his face. He should leave, he should run away right now, but he just didn't feel up to it at the moment. For one thing, he hadn't gotten a buzz yet, and he'd paid good money for that keg. For another, he didn't feel like it at the moment. Being in proximity to a Celestial mage after stars knew _how_ long was almost a relief in and of itself.

He was just so damn _tired_.

"I'm fine, don't worry, nothing wrong with me." He brushed off, waving a hand before quickly draining this mug as well. Mira refilled it promptly before going back to her other duties. Lucy scowled, seeing that. Normally it was Cana who was the resident guild lush, not Loke.

"Right, that's totally you being fine." She huffed, crossing her arms and dammit did she have to press her boobs up like that? Loke almost growled as he forced himself to avert his eyes. Bad enough she was a celestial mage, a holder of keys and someone who held thrall and command over his entire being, but to be _fucking hot_ on top of it?

It was karma. Fucking karma. Karin was rolling in her grave and _laughing_ at him.

He would be too, if he were honest. If he weren't in blinding agony and trying to drink it away. Stupid human world.

"Don't bother with him Luce." Natsu sighed, and dare he believe it, the boy actually had taken the hint? Loke almost wanted to make a toast to that. Almost. "He gets like this every now and again, becomes a total grouch. Don't even try to get him out of it." The dragon slayer yawned, stretching before going to stand up and head over to boast to some of the other guild members. Lucy kept frowning, before turning to Mirajane.

"How much has he had thus far?" She asked. Loke scoffed quietly, rude much? Maybe if he ignored her she'd go away. Mira frowned and glanced at him before pursing her lips. "That's probably his eleventh." She answered, a hard glint to her eyes that Loke swore was revenge on him for _something_. He simply narrowed his eyes slightly. Traitor.

Lucy gaped, then turned to face him directly, or as directly as she could when he was busy cringing away from her. " _Eleven_? That's crazy! You're turning into Cana at this rate!" She protested, then she got up to walk towards him, reaching over to try and take his mug. Loke could almost feel his cropped hair stand on end, an image of a lion snarling in his mind as he tensed up and glared at her. She paused for a moment, hesitating, before squaring her shoulders and facing him glare for glare.

She didn't take the mug however.

"Actually Loke's one of the few members here who can drink Cana under the table." Mira piped up, casually ignoring the two's confrontation as she carefully cleaned a mug. "You wouldn't think to look at him, but he can really hold his liquor." She set it down and turned to give them both a rather sweet, if one didn't know her, smile. "Usually he empties a whole keg before he runs off on these days~!"

Lucy turned back to face him, a helpless, frustrated expression on her face. "That's…insane. Why would you-?"

"And why do you care?" He bit out, interrupting her from her question. He was tired, so fucking tired, and he greatly disliked celestial wizards on a _good_ day. Even if she was kinder than most, even if it wasn't really _her_ that he disliked, he still felt extremely uncomfortable in her presence and his mood was foul enough. He turned his hazel eyes to her, glancing out overtop his shades, a flat, unimpressed stare directed at her person. "It's none of your business." He growled.

Lucy paused, once again taken off track. A flicker of confusion went through her doe eyes before she set her jaw once again. She was so _stubborn_. "You're killing yourself." She huffed, not at all intimidated by him, not at all backing down when everyone else just chose to mind their own business. He really needed to stay away from her.

He almost laughed at the irony of her words. Heh. Killing himself. If only she knew.

"Fine, I'm out." He huffed, going to stand up abruptly and startling Mirajane from her work. She blinked in shock as the ginger turned, a finger pressing his shades up on his nose. A few steps, and suddenly a delicate, fine hand wrapped firmly around his wrist. "Loke wait- "

"Don't. Touch me." He snarled, turning slightly to face her, his whole body tensed, his magic spiking, if she could only feel it. One eye glanced back, peering out from the corner of his shades, almost gleaming catlike in threat. He then closed it, taking a deep breath and reigning in his more animalistic side. He was better than this, more patient. He wasn't a damn cub to lose his temper like this.

He wrenched his wrist out of the blonde's grasp, then slowly, purposefully, walked back out of the guild.

Lucy watched him walk out, both torn by indignation and serious concern. She hadn't been in the guild long but…Loke had never looked at her like that. In fact, he'd always struck her as being rather mild mannered. She crossed her arms and scowled, hiding her confusion in frustration. "What's his problem?" She griped.

"Lucy, I'm sorry." Mira admitted from behind her, causing the blonde to turn and frown more. The bartender shook her head, setting down the mug she was cleaning. "He…. gets like that. No one's been able to get him to open up on these days…I'd hoped…" She paused and frowned, going to pick up the mug that Loke had left behind.

"Well, that's obvious." Lucy huffed, going to sit at the bar once again. "But _what's_ wrong with him? He's not usually like that, is he?" The look on his face, his eyes. It worried her, and yes she _didn't_ have a reason to pry, but while the playboy was an enigma and she did have better things to do, something in her gut told her that…whatever it was…she could fix it. She _should_ fix it. Or at least she should try.

She just couldn't explain why she felt like that…

Mira shook her head again, going to drain Loke's mug and clean it. "No one knows." She answered simply. "He's very close lipped, is Loke. Especially when it comes to his personal life. I don't mean to speculate but…" She pursed her lips, brows furrowed before she continued. "I think it's medical."

"Medical? Are you sure?" The blonde exclaimed, biting her lip in worry. It made her think of her mother, too close to home, painful memories of doctors, nurses, and the ever prevalent scent of antiseptic flooding her mind. "Why doesn't he go to a doctor then?" She asked, voice lowering, weakening.

The white haired woman shrugged, shaking her head sadly. "We don't know. Natsu can't smell anything off him, and since he's never brought up the subject, we're assuming he can't. We just know he's in a lot of pain…" She took in a deep breath, closing her eyes. "That's why he drinks so much, and why he probably takes one of his girls at night. It's probably the only thing that keeps the pain of…whatever it is…at bay." She shrugged and opened her eyes again. "At least, that's what we can speculate. He doesn't say a word about it, and everyone's learned to leave him alone during these times." She gave Lucy a pitying glance. "Just…. leave him be for now. He usually goes back to his usual self in a few days."

"No way…" The Celestial Wizard slowly sank down in her seat, her eyes wide and guilt ridden. "Great, now I feel like an ass." She huffed, slumping into her arms. Good job Lucy, be an insensitive bitch to the guy who's terrified at you. Brilliant.

Mira reached over and lightly patted her shoulder, giving her a small grin. "Don't beat yourself up. You were only trying to help." She paused. "I think he was a little harsh on you myself. He… probably let his dislike of Celestial Mages get the best of him." She frowned. "He might apologize to you later, or at least he should."

"I still feel awful." Lucy huffed, giving a tiny pout as she stared at the tiny patterns engraved in the wooden table. "I guess I can understand why he's with all those women and live like he does…especially with that riding over him."

Mira gave a small chuckle and another pat before going back to her cleaning. "Really, it's not so bad. Most days it seems like he's perfectly fine, so he probably isn't in that much pain all the time. It's like… an old war injury I guess." She paused and placed a finger to her cheek, thinking and frowning. "Maybe it has something to do with the weather. I've never thought of it before…."

Lucy snorted and turned away. "Well, I still feel bad. Great…" She huffed, though her smirk was good natured. "Guess that means I'll have to find some way to apologize to an unashamed playboy…" She almost shuddered. The horror.

The older woman gave a slight chuckle, smiling fondly at the blonde. "If you want, I doubt he'd force you."

With that Lucy nodded, her eyes shining with determination as she stood up from her chair. "Right! I'll figure something out then. Catch you later Mira!" She called, before rushing out and waving goodbye to Natsu as she left. She _would_ find a way to apologize to Loke, even if it took all day for her to do it!

* * *

Lucy had spent most of the evening wracking her brain over figuring out how to apologize to the ginger playboy, most of it being used as an excuse to wander the shops in downtown Magnolia, her companion Plue tapping along behind her. She usually didn't frequent this area, though she'd heard a lot of good things about it. One of them being about the local taverns and bars, places to mingle and potentially find company for a lonely night.

Such places should have been a warning sign to her, though she was still surprised when she caught the tail end of a familiar green jacket vanishing into one of the bars. She gaped, scowled, then huffed and promptly followed in after him. Call her stupid, call her stubborn, but she couldn't let it lie. Plue shook and protested quietly, but otherwise followed after his idiot master. She really needed to learn not to poke the lion when he was down… not that she ever listened.

Lucy glanced around the crowd, a rather large crown when she thought about it, until she spotted an orange crop of hair bent over one of the dark tables in one of the corners populated with a good helping of people. There was enough of a crowd that her entrance didn't cause a stir, and many of them were quite sloshed from the scent permeating the air. She wrinkled her nose but ignored it, simply striding her stubborn way through before plopping herself promptly across from his stupidly gaping face.

Instantly he closed off, hiding behind and expression of stone, the lights emitted from the lacrima glinting off of his sunglasses. He leaned back, silent, waiting for her to speak.

She starred at him in frustration for several moments, lips pursed, before giving an explosive sigh and reaching out to lightly grasp his hand.

"Loke…" She murmured, loud enough to be heard in the crowd, though soft enough to not be shouting. Her shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed, I just…I'm worried about you, you know?" She tried to give him a slight smirk, trying to lighten up the mood. "You…know you don't have to face…whatever this is alone…right?" They were nakama, even if she usually saw the back of him. That had to count for something, right?

Loke was silent for several moments, his face expressionless, before he pulled his hand away and stood up again before promptly leaving the bar.

Lucy gaped at his retreating form, then gave a frustrated groan before following after him, again. Of all the pig headed, stubborn, irritating people…!

"Loke, wait!" She called out to him, trying to grab for his hand again and she did not _care_ if he pushed her away again, she was going to do this dammit! "Let me try to help you!"

A beat, then suddenly she was pinned. Her back scraped against the peach colored bricks and mortar, his hands pressing to her hips, his face several inches from hers. His eyes were hard, his shades reflecting a lacrima lamp to their left, his lips set in a scowl.

His eyes narrowed, didn't this woman get any hints? "You can't help." He bit out, his jaw clenched in frustration and impatience. Never in all his years had he met someone so _stubborn_ , so _stupid_.

Except Natsu. No wonder they were friends.

"I want to." She insisted, meeting him glare for glare, and it was more than a little irksome how utterly unafraid she was. Something about that fire was intriguing, but no, no. It was more irritating now than anything. "Please Loke." She pleaded, leaning up towards him. "There has to be _something_."

"There isn't." He huffed, letting out a growl off irritation. "I don't want to be saved, can't you take a hint?" He didn't want to say he was barring his fangs, but he was barring his fangs. He felt so _childish_.

She frowned in confusion for a moment, taken back by his words, but then she squared her shoulders. "Come on, we're Nakama, _family_ , you can't keep this up on your own!" She pleaded, her own hands clenching into fists against the rough texture of the wall behind her. "Please Loke!"

"Who said I was keeping anything up?" He scoffed, not even bothering with his usual façade around her now. He was in too much pain, too damn tired to bother. Plus, he wished more than anything that she'd go away. Being near her was like being perpetually teased and taunted at once, and not just for her looks. Karin really was laughing at him… "There's _nothing_ \- "He paused, frowning as an idea came to him. She was just proving to be too stubborn to leave on her own, but perhaps…if he drove her away.

"Actually…" He murmured, hazel eyes darkening, light glinting further along his shades as he leaned toward her. "There is…something you can do for me." He murmured.

She blinked, surprised by his 180 and confused over his words. His actions proved a distraction from that however. "Wh-what would that be?" She asked, cheeks turning pink as he moved even closer to her.

A hand lifted from her hip to run lightly through her hair, his face angling towards her, the shades sliding a little down his nose and giving her an unobstructed view of his eyes.

They were so intense, and so…old. Almost.

She swallowed.

"One night." He murmured, the corners of his lips twitching up. "Just a single night, that'll help me _plenty_." There was no way, no way in hell that she'd go for it. Lucy was not against using her looks to get what she wanted, but she was far, far better than he when it came to selling herself. She held a certain purity to herself, one that hinted at possibly a lack of _experience_ in such-

"Okay."

He froze, eyes widening at her answer, his hand tightening its grip along her hip. She couldn't be serious.

But she was, her eyes were firm, the angle of her chin set. She knew what he was trying to do, and yes, while sleeping with a pervert and player like him wasn't nearly on her list of things she wanted to do, she wasn't exactly against him. He was attractive, and…oddly sweet when he wanted to be. From what she'd seen.

Plus, from this close, she could see the signs Mirajane was talking about. The tightening of his shoulders, the slight trembling of his hands, the hunched over set to his back. He was in _pain_ , a lot of it, and if that was what it took to help him than she'd be more than happy to aid him. Plus, it was just _one_ night.

It wasn't like she was all that innocent after all. First times be _damned_ , she'd not had much experience, but she'd had some. She wasn't some _blushing bride_.

She almost smirked at the clear surprise evident on his face, a flush of pride shooting through her at taking the confident man off guard.

"Y-You're serious?" He stammered, all of his pretense vanishing at her wrecking his plans. "You can't be-no. Never mind. Just forget it." He scowled and pulled away, only for her to grab his wrist again.

"Loke, please." She pleaded, giving him an entreating glance. "Just…let me do this."

He gazed back at her helplessly, small, wry smile lifting his lips. This woman…she was going to be the end of him at this rate. He gave a dry chuckle and pushed his shades back onto his face, his eyes closing as he gave in. "You really are something else, aren't you Lucy Heartfilia?" He drawled, shaking his head helplessly.

"There it is." She murmured, sighing in relief and causing him to glance up in confusion again. She gave him a soft smile, her hand lightly squeezing his. "That smile…you haven't given it all day. I was getting worried." He had such a nice smile, a gentle, patient one. Loke being angry just seemed…wrong to her. Even if she hadn't been around him often, she'd seen enough to note how out of place his current expression had been. She was relieved that she'd managed to bring it to his face at last.

Whatever happened that night, that was a victory for her.

He gaped at her for a few moments, eyes blinking, before he gave another laugh and sighed. "If you say so." He murmured, before leaning forward again, thumb idly stroking along her cheek, hazel gaze softening. "So... I hear your bed's pretty soft." He chuckled, small smirk seeping into his grin.

She scoffed and rolled her eyes, though she gave a matching grin of her own. "Honestly, they're all burglars. Every one of them." She huffed, her mind going fondly to all of her teammates.

"You should charge them for breaking and entering one of these days." He suggested, arm bending to brace himself against the wall, forehead brushing hers. This was dangerous territory, very dangerous for him, but he hurt so much and she'd agreed so… "Might get you more of that rent money, yeah?"

She chuckled breathlessly, her face angling to meet his, her brown eyes gleaming. He was very handsome in this light, especially now that he wasn't trying to run away or brush her off. "I could never…" She admitted, though his suggestion was very tempting some days. "Gray wouldn't last ten seconds in prison."

At that Loke gave a slight snort before going to press his lips to hers.

It was so wrong, but so… nice at the same time.

* * *

 **I was so tempted to write the smut, but I was also so, so lazy. I might add it on later, because I know what I want from it, but beyond that... ehhhhhhhh**

 **I still want to write more for this pairing of course, (and naturally more angsty megane immortal ginger) I just needed to get this idea out of my head. If I do tack on the smut it'll up the rating of course, but for now it's finished.**

 **Review for your aunty Cune~**

 **Ciao**


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